MARKETING AUTOMATIONBenchmarks for Small & Medium BusinessesWhat marketing automation success will look like in a year ahead and how small and medium businesses plan to achieve it.

Ascend2 Research Conducted in Partnership with SharpSpring

This free report is provided by our partner SharpSpring in conjunction with Ascend2 Research.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Obstacles to marketing automation success for SMBs ..............4Most important marketing automation objectives ......................5Rating the success of marketing automation strategies ............6Most challenging obstacles to success ...........................................7Resources used for automated marketing campaigns ...............8Most important factors for choosing a system .............................9Most useful metrics for measuring performance ......................10Research methodology and demographics ................................ 12About the Research Partners ..........................................................14

Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, N-194 SMBsSharpspring in partnership with Ascend2, published July 2014

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What are the MOST IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES for marketing automation?

Marketing automation streamlines marketing processes to improve time-intensive tactics such as lead nurturing, the most important objective for agencies.

SPRING FORWARDReaching out to individuallynurture leads one at a time isn’t realistic for most companies, and takes a huge amount of time for the ones that do. Marketing automation’s strength is that by segmenting leads based on interests and stage in the buying cycle, you can have a one-on-one conversation... with thousands of people at once.

Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, N-194 SMBsSharpspring in partnership with Ascend2, published July 2014

3Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, N-194 SMBsSharpspring in partnership with Ascend2, published July 2014 6

How do you RATE THE SUCCESS of marketing automarion in achieving important objectives?

93% of businesses successfully use marketing automation to achieve their important objectives.

SPRING FORWARDMarketing automation isextremely effective at accomplishing marketing goals. From improving lead nurturing, to generating more sales revenue, the overwhelming majority of companies using marketing automation are seeing positive results.

3Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, N-194 SMBsSharpspring in partnership with Ascend2, published July 2014 7

What are the MOST CHALLENGING OBSTACLES to marketing automation success?

Not knowing how to take advantage of marketing automation and not being able to afford it are the twobiggest obstacles businesses face when trying to implement automation.

SPRING FORWARDBudget and strategy can beintimidating when considering adopting marketing automation, but they don’t have to be. High quality marketing automationis becoming available at prices even very small companies can afford, and the quality providersalso offer guidance and support when it comes to marketing automation strategy.

3Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, N-194 SMBsSharpspring in partnership with Ascend2, published July 2014 8

What best describes RESOURCES USED to perform automatedmarketing campaigns?

The majority of businesses rely exclusively on their own resources to run automated marketing campaigns.

SPRING FORWARDThe best marketing automa-tion platforms are intuitive and easy to lean, and provide plenty of training and support. However, outsourcing the running of your marketing automation to an agency can be a big asset if your company doesn't have the time or personnel to implement marketing automation.

3Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, N-194 SMBsSharpspring in partnership with Ascend2, published July 2014 9

what are the MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS in choosing a marketingautomation system?

Businesses want an easy to use, all-in-one marketing automation system to run campaigns, and they want analytics and reporting that can prove perforamnce.

SPRING FORWARDThe best marketing automa-tion platforms are easy to use and work with what the client is already using. It can be difficult to move away from a current CRM or CMS, and with a marketing automation platform that integrates with everything, you'll never have to.

3Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, N-194 SMBsSharpspring in partnership with Ascend2, published July 2014 10

What are the MOST USEFUL METRICS for measuring marketing marketing automation performance?

Knowing the conversion rates for leads at each step of the selling cycle lets you pinpoint exactly where your sales funnel is leaking, and how you can fix it.

SPRING FORWARDIt’s a common story that a company has plenty of leads, and yet somehow doesn’t end up with plenty of sales. You know they’re dropping off somewhere, but you don’t know where, so you can’t fix the problem. Marketing automation lets you distinguish the pieces of your sales process, and shows you exactly where leads are falling off.

311Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, N-194 SMBsSharpspring in partnership with Ascend2, published July 2014

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Ascend2 Research Surveys are conducted online from a panel of more than 50,000 US and international business, marketing and sales professionals representing a range of contact roles, company types, sizes and geographic regions.

The questionnaire used is standardized to incorporate Ascend2 methodol-ogies across all studies while maintaining our proven 3-Minute Survey format. Survey findings are examined in a quantitative context by experi-enced analysts and reported objectively.

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SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS

Company Location Role in the Company

Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, N-194 SMBsSharpspring in partnership with Ascend2, published July 2014

Powerful, affordable marketing tools that help you automate workflows, drive more leads and convert them to sales with SMB friendly pricing to fit your budget. SharpSpring is built to help your marketing agency attract new business, create a recurring revenue stream and tie your clients to you.

313Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, N-194 SMBsSharpspring in partnership with Ascend2, published July 2014

ABOUT THE RESEARCH PARTNERS

Learn more at www.SharpSpring.com

Simple Marketing Automation for Agencies and SMBs

Learn more at www.Ascend2.com

Research - Based Demand Generation for Marketing Solution ProvidersMarketing software firms and marketing agencies partner with Ascend2 to reli-ably generate new business opportunities. Our integrated research, content creation and demand generation programs are transparent – putting the spotlight on your brand and the interests of your audience.